athwart

1 of 2

preposition

ə-ˈthwȯrt How to pronounce athwart (audio)
nautical often -ˈthȯrt
Synonyms of athwartnext
1
: across
2
: in opposition to
… thoughts that run athwart the conventions—Jacques Barzun

athwart

2 of 2

adverb

1
: across especially in an oblique direction
2
: in opposition to the right or expected course
… and quite athwart goes all decorum.—William Shakespeare

Synonyms of athwart

Relevance

Preposition

Adverb

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of athwart in a Sentence

Preposition athwart the road was farmland as far as the eye could see Adverb after it enters the Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane is predicted to advance athwart to the Texas coastline we hung the twisted strips of crepe paper athwart to the floor and ceiling so that they formed giant crosses on all four walls
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Preposition
One of the world’s largest container ships was wedged athwart the Suez Canal on March 23rd, blown off course by high winds. — The Economist, 27 Mar. 2021 An obstructionist Supreme Court, however, stood athwart the New Deal’s path. — John Fabian Witt, The New Republic, 26 Aug. 2022 Her mother, feeling abandoned by her constantly traveling husband, had affairs; her father’s heartfelt liberalism would run athwart of the postwar Red Scare. — Elsa Dixler, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Apr. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

Preposition

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

1611, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of athwart was in the 15th century

Rhymes for athwart

See All Rhymes for athwart

Browse Nearby Words

athrogenic
athwart
athwarthawse
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Athwart.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/athwart. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

athwart

1 of 2 preposition
ə-ˈthwȯ(ə)rt How to pronounce athwart (audio)
nautical often -thȯ(ə)rt
1
: across entry 2 sense 1
2
: in opposition to

athwart

2 of 2 adverb
: across entry 1 sense 1
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All